The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 335: Three-Sided General Administration
This is a very sad thing.

Even if the Ming Dynasty recaptured Hetao, it would not be able to hold on to it.

Because the current Ming Dynasty's northern border defense lines are all hidden within the Great Wall, and they have no ability to defend the Hetao area!
Zhu Houzhao and Yang Tinghe also understood this truth, so they were very disappointed for a while.

"Just because we can't defend it now doesn't mean we can only watch helplessly."

Tang Hao took out a charcoal pencil and drew a line on the map.

"The imperial court can immediately start building a 1,500-li border wall from Dingbianying (Dingbian, Shaanxi) in the west to Huangfuchuan (northeast of Fugu) in the east, and strive to complete it within three years. At the same time, send elite soldiers to implement the "search and destroy the nest" strategy, and take the initiative to enter the Hetao area to search and suppress the Mongols, to prevent them from using the Hetao as a springboard to attack Shaanxi, Shanxi, Ningxia and other places."

"Once the border wall of the Great Wall is rebuilt, the imperial court can mobilize all its troops to attack the enemy by land and sea, and completely recapture the Hetao area!"

According to the current combat effectiveness of the Ming soldiers, it is actually not difficult to recapture Hetao.

But the difficulty lies in how to defend Hetao after regaining it. After all, the little Mongolian prince is a heroic figure. How could he watch such a fertile pasture and strategic location being taken away by the Ming Dynasty?

After all, the Hetao area is a plain pasture and a natural battlefield for the grassland cavalry. The Ming army has no advantage in fighting here, so they can only build defensive fortifications as a support. The 1,500-mile border wall from Dingbianying (Dingbian, Shaanxi) in the west to Huangfuchuan (northeast of Fugu) in the east is the key to the Ming Dynasty's recovery of the Hetao area!

Zhu Houzhao always had a good strategic vision, and he immediately realized this.

"Prime Minister, what do you think of this plan?"

"Building a border wall, I think it's feasible!"

"This is a permanent solution!"

Yang Tinghe frowned, with a complicated expression.

"It is feasible, but building a border wall is not a one-day job. In addition, the loss of manpower and material resources, the financial expenditure of the court is likely to be..."

"Don't worry!" Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, "The national treasury will pay half, the private treasury will pay half, and I will pay out of my own pocket to build the border wall and recover the Hetao area. Is this okay?"

After these words were spoken, even Tang Hao looked sideways.

Unexpectedly, this absurd emperor who was greedy for money and lustful had a time when he could attract people's attention like this.

In fact, the reason why Zhu Houzhao had the confidence to say this was thanks to the financial resources that Tang Hao had expanded for him.

The annual commercial tax and tariff revenue from the East China Sea overseas trade is a huge sum of money, not to mention the gold, silver and treasures shipped back from Japan, the value of which is simply inestimable.

Yang Tinghe stared at the Emperor in astonishment, and was a little confused for a moment.

Build a border wall out of your own pocket?

How much money and grain did His Majesty the Emperor extort from Japan?
Yang Tinghe was not stupid, he certainly knew where the money and grain for the treasury came from.

However, since His Majesty the Emperor had already said this, Yang Tinghe naturally could not refuse.

After all, Hetao is indeed a strategic location. Ever since Bolai forcibly occupied Hetao, Hetao has become the main starting base for Mongolian tribes to harass the interior of the Ming Dynasty, and the "Hetao bandits" have also become the main border threat to the Ming Dynasty.

Why was the military expenditure of the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty so high?

Isn't it because after the Mongolian tribes occupied Hetao, they used it as a base to attack left and right, move south and west, and frequently harass the military towns along the border and the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities!

However, after the Battle of Tumu, the Ming Dynasty weakened rapidly and was completely unable to recover the Hetao region. The most it could do was to carry out "search the Hetao" and "destroy the nest" operations during the Tianshun and Chenghua periods.

Although Yang Tinghe was not good at military affairs, he did not lack a certain strategic vision.

After all, the importance of the Hetao area is obvious to any discerning person. If the Ming Dynasty does not find a way to recover the Hetao area, the nine borders will always face harassment and looting by the barbarians on the grasslands, and military expenditures will continue to grow!

Moreover, once a unified force emerges on the grassland and uses Hetao as a springboard to attack Shaanxi, Shanxi, Ningxia and other places, the Ming Dynasty will be in real danger of collapse!

For example...now!
Therefore, even for the sake of future generations, Yang Tinghe could not reject Tang Hao's proposal to build a border wall.

"We should dispatch a general to serve as the commander-in-chief of the three borders and supervise this matter full-time!"

"The first is to build the border wall, the second is to search for traps and destroy their nests, and the third is to contact Yibula and Mandulai!"

"So this general must not only be good at fighting, but also have extraordinary wisdom..."

As he spoke, Yang Tinghe turned his attention to Tang Hao.

Well, among all the generals of the Beijing Army, the only one who meets the requirements is our Lord Zhongshan, who is both civil and military.

Zhu Houzhao also subconsciously looked at Tang Hao. In his heart, no one with military merit was as good as his own barbarians. Moreover, the Three Borders General was in a high position and had the power to control the troops of the Three Borders. If someone else went, Zhu Houzhao would definitely not be at ease.

Seeing the two of them setting their sights on him, Tang Hao replied unhappily: "Why are you looking at me? I want to go to Liaodong, I must go there in person!"

"The situation in Liaodong is far more complicated than that in Hetao, and its importance is no less than that of Hetao. If there is chaos in Liaodong, the country will be overthrown!"

This is also an irrefutable fact.

"Who do you think can take on this important task?"

"Jinglu Bo Anguo!"

Tang Hao gave the reason.

"An Guo was born in a garrison town. He studied hard since he was young and was proficient in the Spring and Autumn Annals and the history books. In addition, he was an excellent martial artist, skilled in swords, spears, cavalry and archery. At the age of fifteen, he was invincible in the Sui De Guard. He was loyal to the court and could be a great garrison general!"

"An Guo...?" Zhu Houzhao nodded. "He is a man of both civil and military talents. He is indeed a good candidate."

Historically, An Guo was a dignified and rigorous person with both civil and military talents. He managed border affairs diligently and responsibly, issued simple orders, and was especially good at caring for the soldiers. Many generals were willing to serve the country under his command. In the areas he guarded, the enemy never dared to invade rashly. He was a rare general in the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties.

Yang Tinghe questioned it and said in a deep voice: "The governor of the three borders is in charge of the military affairs of Shaanxi, Gansu, Yansui and Ningxia, and controls the governor of Hexi, the governor of Hedong, the governor of Shaanxi, and the nine generals of Gansu, Liang, Su, Xi, Ningxia, Yansui, Shendaoling, Xing'an and Guyuan. He is in a high position and has great power. Only important officials of the court can take up this position!"

The Three Borders System of the Ming Dynasty began with the famous general Wang Yue. This was because after the northern border of Shaanxi was divided into Yansui, Ningxia and Gansu, each town was ordered to take on the border defense task within its jurisdiction alone. Whenever a war broke out, they had no mutual defense responsibilities, so they often suffered defeat. In order to effectively consolidate the northwestern border, a "Governor-General of the Three Borders of Shaanxi" was established, referred to as the Governor-General of the Three Borders, to take charge of all his powers. This also shows the seriousness of the border defense situation and that such an establishment is necessary.

The management of the Three Border Generals gradually became systematized. The core of this border defense system was the separation of powers among the three powers headed by the general, including civil officials in charge of the prime minister, military officials in charge of the troops, and eunuchs in charge of the military. Its essence was to strengthen the Ming Dynasty's northwest military defense capabilities, improve the effectiveness of the border defense of various towns, and strengthen centralization of power.

However, the key point is that Wang Yue was not a military hero, but a civil official who had passed the imperial examination. When he was appointed as the General Governor of the Three Borders, he took the post as the Left Censor-in-Chief.

After Wang Yue, the second commander-in-chief of the three borders of the Ming Dynasty is the current Minister of War Yang Yiqing.

In other words, Yang Tinghe was reminding Tang Hao and Zhu Houzhao that the post of General Commander of the Three Borders could only be held by civil officials and gentry, rather than a military hero who was both civil and military, which was something the gentry would never allow.

When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he immediately got furious. Mongolia was about to be unified, and the Ming Dynasty was about to be kicked out of its nest, but these damn court officials were still fighting among themselves. Isn't that frustrating?
But before the emperor could get angry, Tang Hao gave reasonable suggestions.

"The Three Borders System is nothing more than a system of power division among the three, with the general as the chief, the civil officials as the prime minister, the military officials as the commander of the army, and the eunuchs as the supervisors of the army."

"The military official who will command the troops will be An Guo, the Earl of Jinglu, who will be in charge of the war. As for the civil official who will be the chief minister, Your Majesty, I recommend Wang Qiong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue!"

Wang Qiong?

When he heard this name, a figure flashed through Zhu Houzhao's mind.

Wang Qiong was a Jinshi in the 20th year of Chenghua. He served in the Chenghua, Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties. He had served as the head of the Ministry of Works, the Doctor of Water Resources, the Councillor, and the Provincial Governor. He had a brilliant resume and outstanding abilities, and was indeed a talented and capable official.

However, Yang Tinghe frowned, because Wang Qiong, like Jiao Fang, was good at scheming for power and would do anything to advance his career, and was not tolerated by the literati.

In the second year of Zhengde, Wang Qiong was able to enter the court as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue by bribing the powerful eunuch Liu Jin.

At that time, the Hengwang Palace had land awarded by the court, but it was too barren to be cultivated. However, Hengwang Zhu Youji still ordered the people to pay rent as usual, and falsely accused Zhao Xian and other common people of occupying his land. Wang Qiong went to investigate in person, seized the land of the people next door and gave it to Hengwang, and sent Zhao Xian and others to the border as soldiers. Many local people resented Wang Qiong, and his reputation was ruined because of this!
It would be fine if you didn't enforce the law impartially, but you also curry favor with the powerful and wealthy and turn the tables to persecute the people. What kind of logic is this?
Civil officials and gentry all have status and position, and they all have to save face. Even if they are interested in a career in politics, they will more or less pay attention to the impact and will not do anything too obvious to avoid being ridiculed.

However, people like Wang Qiong who shamelessly curry favor with the powerful are truly despised by others, not to mention that Wang Qiong was also defined as a eunuch party.

"Your Majesty... this Wang Qiong..."

"It's settled!" Zhu Houzhao was too lazy to talk nonsense with Yang Tinghe anymore. "Appoint Wang Qiong as the commander-in-chief of the three frontiers, and An Guo as the general who conquers the enemy. The two of them will be fully responsible for the Hetao dispute. Take up the post immediately!"

After making the decision, Zhu Houzhao looked at Yang Tinghe.

"Master Yang, Mongolia is about to be unified. I don't want to continue fighting with the civil officials and gentry!"

"It would be best if they cooperated with the imperial court honestly and tried to recover Hetao to prevent future troubles. If they don't cooperate, I will never be soft-hearted again!"

Hearing this, Yang Tinghe was shocked and his expression became serious.

"Your Majesty is wise. I understand."

When the Ming Dynasty encounters a powerful enemy, everything must be done to preserve the country and the people!

Anyone who dares to continue fighting for power and profit at this time is disregarding the ancestors and the country, and His Majesty the Emperor will never forgive him!

(End of this chapter)